The National tribune., 1887-04-14


sies of life for them And yet il may be said
in the future when such bill as that passes
Congress as ID certa iny will some day, lap
plause il may be said by somebody that u in-
cludes within its provisions all the bummers
and the shirks and the stragglers a voice;
sAnd coffee coolers !" and the coffee coolers.
Why2 Because il includes all the members
who served three months or more Why, you
know, and i know, many men who made
greater sacrifices i'm that service of three months
than you and j did in three years service.
Nou aud ] know men whose heartstrings were
stretohed--who served 100 days-and yet who
made the same sacrifices that you aud i did
who served three years. You and know that
at the close of the war there were tens OF thou
sands OF young men who were
JUST OF THE AGE TO ENLIST,
and they did enlist for service in 1868 IT
Is no sort OF evidence that because men served
three months and no more-nO sort OF evidence
that because they enlisted in the Spring of 6i
OF Co they were professional coffee coolers,
not the least in the world.
Possibly some man may say something like
this az some future time: This bill which
will be before Congress then-"would grant pen
sions TO the men who served from December,
'64, 10 June, 65. Who were those menI
They were the scum of the earth!" lCries Of
"Bagg! Braggi"l Some man may say that
at some future time. Laughter They were
the scum, aye! and the dregs la voice: He's
a liar! ~. and they staid in their homes until
they were bought bought by men who specu-
lated in blood, bought and paid for at 500 10
$500 each, with the private assurance that they
were physically so defective that all they had
20 do was TO 60 to a hospital and not endanger
their precious carcasses. Gentlemen talk about
soldiers being in almshouses. The men who
are found there were men who came from
them, and men who, when they left the
Id. cd s,,#a sE,sw III inn
No true soldier need ever go TO the pauper-
house. The men who 20 there are native there.
They had no self-respect, no character, and
they laid down and opened their mouths for
teat 20 SUCK" Repeated cries of Bragg"
"Gen. Bmgg Bragg says thatp'l j only
say that at some time in the future, when that
bill comes before Congress, as it
CERTAINLY Will COME,
some man may stand before the American peo-
pie and repeat such sentiments as j have read
here.
Now I want 10 say one other word, il j am
not OBTAINING you cries: Go on Go on !"l
is il not true from your knowledge of men
many of YOU have known soldiers in your
Eastern homes 10 go into the poorhouse, and
did YOU ever know one that had fallen into the
poorhonse who was native there W No!
No!"l; whose former condition was the aims
house /" No!"l; who simply went back TO the
AliuShtusctsllu WHO slid ply iilu uoNil Oh MS baCh
and waited for the Government 10 give him a
teal to suck2 Repeated cries of No!"l Have
you ever known such man as that? j never
have and yet have known several in Wisconsin
10 go 10 the common paupcr-hOuse They were
not natives there at all. They were not that
kind OF men--and yet they were compelled 10
go to the poOrbOuse Now, we say in Wiscon-
sin that these men shall come out of the aims
house cheeTsl, and we are taking our first step
now Ia our Legislature this week, in Madison,
my own home, 10 bring these men out of the
common paRper-house III the Nation will not
do it, and the State won't do it, then,
GOD HELPING Us,
the Grand Army Of the Republic viii do it
lCries [" We ought TO send Bragg there! T" No;
j am making no personal relerence-I am talk
ing on general principles. Applause.l j am
not discussing the present at all j am discus
sing what may occur in the future. Cheers
aud laughter
Now, comrades tax your recollection mo-
meut Who were the men that you knew that
enlisted IN ls64-52 Don't you remember
many good man--young man-just Of age?
Don't you remember other men who were mon
with wives and children, who could not go, in
justice to their wives, their children and them
seves-until the final moment came? Don't
you remember many men who ought not TO
have gone unless somebody gave them money
10 leave with their families at home as a mat
ter OF common decency and justice TO their
wives aud children? Men who remained at
hOme-loyal men and true-could well afford
10 give them $780, or $500, or S400, for the sup
port OF their families at home Remember that
the great mass of the men were going into the
army 10 work for SIC per month--it had for
merly been Sll, greenbacks, with gold worth
240! Laughter.
1T WAS A SMALL PITTANCE
4 a n r. n
was anxious 10 know few days ago the Occu-
patiOns OF that class Of men who enlisted, and
30 ] went TO the records and ] found this-just
IN passing j want 10 show you j found that
20 one OF the best regiments ever sent 10 the
service there was sent 455 recruits, forwarded
between Oct. 1, 1854 and March -, '65. Now
that includes all the coffee coolers [laughterl,
and of these DDS men ii were killed l3 died
OF wounds az died OF disease; six were counted
as missing in action i0l were wounded and
15 were taken prisoners; three were discharged
Tor disability; is were sick at hospital when
mustered out of service, and only three de-
serters. Cheers. Now, comrades, that is a
good record for 455 men from Oct. 10 March
la good record. Casualties amounting 10
169 What regiment shows a greater per cent
OF loss IN so few monthsy Those men, my
friends, ought naturally 10 have come within
the description that may possibly be given TO
the class Of men j have referred TO here and
yet you find that they were not. A majority
OF them were farmers, and the balance of them
were mechanics, and very Few were unskilled
laborcrs. Those d55 men, my comrades, were
late ~ the service sent by Wisconsin down to
the 9th regiment, one of volunteer corps
Bragg commanding! gallant soldier was
Bragg, and a gallant regiment! And yet those
men are brought within the sweep OF the scythe,
and are denominatcd " coffee coolers Z"
Let me go a little further, aud ] will show
You records from my own State, ii do not tire
you. Cries OF Go on Go On!"l We sent
from Misconsin-the 4sth regiment will take
mustered in Feb l6 '65 naturally they saw
but little service. Lets see
WHAT SORT OF MEN THEY WERE.
j took three companies at random, and ran
through the whole rOsteF-cvery man is repre-
Eented ] found that 90 out OF one company
were farmers, ~ mechanics, eight students, one
doctor and one peddler Now, you don't make
scum" or dregs out Of q farmers lad or q
mechanics. Take anOther-Co. i, of the 49th
81 were farmers, four students, the balance me.
chanics. lApplause Go. u: 90 farmers, and
the balance mechanics, students and laborers
The 4eth regiment-mustcred in February, '65
large majority farmers balance students and
mechanics. Out Of $50 men sent 10 the 9th regi.
ment in November, '64-the 9th regiment the
one formerly commanded by that gallant sol
dieT OF my own State Gen Bragg-I32 wer,
farmers and that was bad material 10 make
"cOilee coolers /" out of. Cheers ! have nt
doubt OF this, Commander and cOmrades IL yOI
will take the record Of any State in the Union
the later regiments, outside the large cities, yoU
wnrtAN ind H. a